Susana Martinez

In 2010, Susana Martinez was elected governor of the State of New Mexico. She became New Mexico’s first female governor and the first Hispanic female governor in the history of the United States. Prior to being elected governor, Martinez was a prosecutor for 25 years along the nation’s southern border and served as Doña Ana County’s elected district attorney for over half that time. As governor, she prioritized keeping New Mexico’s communities safe, ensuring all students receive a high-quality education, and diversifying and growing the state’s economy. Governor Martinez’s two terms were marked by many successes including eliminating a $450 million inherited budget deficit and leaving the state with a $2.2 billion surplus; job growth at a 12-year high; improving the state’s high school graduation rate by 11 percentage points – to an all-time high of 74 percent; and implementing a number of public safety initiatives. Governor Martinez won re-election to her second term in 2014 by the largest margin of any Republican gubernatorial candidate in modern history, earning substantial support from Democratic and Independent voters in rural and urban areas alike. She served alongside a Democratically controlled Legislature throughout her time in office, with the exception of a two-year period of Republican control of one chamber. She has been named as Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People in the World (2013) and served as chairman and long-time executive committee member of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).